March 22, 2012
The Honorable Justice Elena Kagan The Supreme Court
United States Supreme Court Building First Street,
Washington, 20543
Re: Dep't Health and Human Services Florida, No. 11-398
Nat. Fed. Jndep. Business Sebelius, No. 11-393
Florida Dep't Health and Human Services, No. 11-400
Dear Justice Kagan:
Judicial Watch conservative, nonpartisan educational organization that seeks promote integrity, transparency and accountability government and fidelity the rule law. addition bringing its own lawsuits and fiJing amicus curiae briefs, Judicial Watch regularly monitors ongoing litigation that believes exceptional public importance. One such exceptionally important lawsuit-actually set lawsuits-is the above-referenced litigation over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA"). June 19, 2010, Judicial Watch served Freedom Information Act ("FOIA") request the U.S. Department Justice ("DOJ") seeking access records pertaining your tenure U.S. Solicitor General and the PPACA. that time, the U.S. Senate was considering your nomination the U.S. Supreme Court. Judicial Watch hoped that its request would shed light your views the federal government's powers under the U.S. Constitution and, more directly, whether you your office had opined the constitutionality the various legislative proposals that became the participated formulating defense expected legal challenges the PPACA. was not until last spring-nearly year after
Judicial Watch had served its FOIA request and
after
both Judicial Watch and another organization had filed separate FOIA lawsuits seeking compel access the requested records-that least some responsive records were finally produced.1 Other responsive records portions thereof were withheld under various FOIA exemptions. Included among the records made public were e-mails suggesting that, during your tenure Solicitor General, the Office the Solicitor General had been more involved the legal defense the PPACA than had previously been disclosed. Late last year, another set records was produced that included email showing what appeared your excitement and support for the passage the PPACA.
Judicial Watch, inc. U.S. Dep't ofJustice, Case No. l-cv-0426 (D.D.C. Feb. 24, 2011); Media Research
Center U.S. Dep't ofJustice, Case No. 10-cv-2013 (D.D.C. Nov. 23, 2010).
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